Because · Education marketing researchSchool Growth System
School digital marketing: what 100+ campaigns show
A review of cost per lead, cost per admission, channel mix and season timing across the 20+ schools and education clients Because has run campaigns for. No school is named.
20+schools
100+campaigns
₹10 lakh+ad spend (₹1 million+)
Key findings
3.0xCost per lead rose from about ₹114 in the first four weeks of a season to ₹342 in the last four, as weekly spend grew about four times.
−69%Leads per click fell by 69%. The rise came from lower conversion, not dearer ads.
3 to 5xMeta cost 3.2 to 5.3 times less than Google per admission in the three campaigns that tracked both.
−34%One Tier-2 school cut spend 39% and cut cost per admission 34% in its second season.
80%About 80% of leads arrive between November and March.
₹259Average cost per lead across the Meta lead-gen campaigns reviewed.
1
Cost per lead rises through the season
We pooled five school campaigns and measured cost per lead in four-week blocks from each campaign's start. Cost per lead climbed from ₹114 to ₹313 by weeks 13 to 16. Taking the last four weeks of each season instead gives ₹342, about three times the opening figure.
Figure 1 · Cost per lead by four-week block
₹114
₹174
₹307
₹313
Weeks 1 to 4spend 1.0xWeeks 5 to 8spend 1.8xWeeks 9 to 12spend 3.8xWeeks 13 to 16spend 4.0x
Five school campaigns pooled. Weekly spend in each block is shown against the weeks 1 to 4 level.
Why it happens
Comparing the first and last four weeks, the cost of reaching 1,000 people fell, so the auction was not the cause. Fewer people clicked, and far fewer of those who clicked filled in the form.
Table 1 · Late season against early season
Metric
Change
Cost per 1,000 impressions
−32%
Link click rate
−28%
Leads per link click
−69%
Cost per lead
3.0x
First four weeks against last four weeks of the season, five campaigns pooled.
Takeaway
More budget bought less intent. Spend early, raise weekly budgets slowly and refresh creative before conversion drops.
2
Meta delivers admissions at a fraction of Google's cost
Three campaigns ran both channels and tracked admissions. In each, Google cost between 3.2 and 5.3 times as much per admission.
Figure 2 · Cost per admission by channel
MetaGoogle
CBSE schoolTier-2 city
₹4,492
about ₹23,900* (5.3x)
Higher-education instituteTechnology courses
₹1.34L
₹5.17L (3.9x)
SchoolAhmedabad
₹20,813
₹67,219 (3.2x)
Bars are scaled within each campaign; Google is the full bar. *Derived from Google conversions and spend, because the school did not report Google admissions directly.
Google still has a role. Branded search and call extensions brought in low-cost enquiries from parents who already knew the school (one campaign recorded ₹77 per branded lead). In a separate school campaign, Google cost ₹2,274 per conversion against ₹181 per lead on Meta.
Takeaway
Use Meta for admissions. Keep Google for branded search and calls.
3
Admissions leads peak from November to March
Demand is not spread evenly across the admission year. In one Ahmedabad school's 2024–25 season, 80% of leads arrived between November and March.
Figure 3 · Leads by month
113
184
224
191
241
289
169
OctNovDecJanFebMarApr
Nov to Mar: 1,129 leads, 80%
One CBSE school in Ahmedabad, October 2024 to April 2025, 1,411 leads. April runs to the 21st.
Takeaway
Use October to warm up: test creative, seed lookalikes and fix tracking. Put the budget in the peak months, and treat March as the last push before admissions close.
4
Case: a CBSE school in a Tier-2 city
The school ran Meta lead ads in two consecutive admission seasons and tracked leads through walk-ins to admissions. The second season spent 39% less and produced a similar number of admissions.
Table 2 · Two seasons of Meta lead ads
Season
Spend
Leads
Per lead
Admissions
Per admission
Previous
₹4.10L
2,067
₹198
60
₹6,829
Latest
₹2.52L
1,675
₹150
56
₹4,492
Change
−39%
−19%
−24%
−7%
−34%
Spend before GST.
Figure 4 · Latest season funnel
Leads1,675
Campus walk-ins141
Admissions56
8.4% of leads became walk-ins, and 40% of walk-ins became admissions.
Takeaway
The walk-in is the step that converts, so it is the step to measure and protect.
5
Case: a higher-education institute
A technology institute ran admissions across Meta and Google over one cycle, with enquiries followed up by calls. It is the largest campaign set in this review.
Scale of the programme
₹46.1Ltotal ad spend
122campaigns
95applications
39seats blocked
24admissions
Table 3 · Spend and cost per admission by channel
Channel
Spend
Per admission
Meta
₹25.4L
₹1.34L
Google
₹20.7L
₹5.17L
Blended across both channels, each admission cost about ₹1.9L.
Takeaway
Google took 45% of the budget and produced a small share of admissions. For a high-ticket course, the channel decides the cost per admission.
6
Where spend was lost
Scaling
Pushing past the audience
A premium metro school averaged ₹504 a lead, then reached about ₹1,011 after its peak weeks while spend continued.
Channel
Google as the main channel
Google cost 3 to 5 times more per admission. See section 2.
Tracking
Reports that stop at leads
Many reports had no walk-in or admission column, so cost per lead was the only measure of success.
Budget
Thin budgets in big markets
Smaller metro and Tier-3 campaigns ran at ₹480 to ₹520 a lead on only a few weeks of data.
7
Planning benchmarks
Table 4 · Cost per lead to plan for on Meta
Market
First 4 weeks
Whole season
Late season
Ahmedabad schools
₹100 to 150
₹200 to 250
₹350+
Tier-2 city schools
₹100 to 125
₹150 to 200
₹300+
Metro premium (Gurugram)
₹400
₹450 to 550
₹800
Early and late figures are estimates built from pooled data. The Tier-2 and metro rows each rest on one school.
8
How we run a season
Table 5 · Season phases
Phase
When
Budget
Focus
Warm-up
Sep to Oct
10 to 15% of season
Test creative, build lookalikes, fix tracking
Ramp
November
Up, within the 10% weekly cap
Scale only what is working
Peak
Dec to Feb
Hold
Weekly checks, creative refresh, chase every lead
Close
March
Trim
Last push before deadlines
Off-season
Apr onward
Minimal
Retargeting, brand, reporting
Every week we check the same five numbers against fixed thresholds.
Table 6 · Weekly checks and thresholds
Check
Act when
Action
Weekly spend growth
Above 10%
Hold the budget
Cost per lead
Above 2x week-1 level for two weeks
Cut spend 30%, refresh creative and audience
Leads per link click
Down 30% from month one
New creative and offer
Frequency
Above 3
Widen audience or refresh creative
Walk-ins and admissions
Not recorded
Fix tracking before spending more
9
Recommendations
Cap the ramp. Raise weekly spend by no more than 10% a week, and hold until cost per lead is steady for two weeks.
Set a stop-loss. If cost per lead stays above twice the first-four-week figure for two weeks, cut spend 30% and refresh creative and audience.
Refresh on signal. Replace creative and offer when leads per click fall 30% from month one, or frequency passes 3.
Use lookalikes early. Build a lookalike of past enquiries in week one. It beat interest targeting in 3 of 4 tests.
Split channels by job. Put 80 to 90% on Meta for admissions and keep Google for branded search and calls.
Start in October. About 80% of leads arrive November to March. Ease spend after March.
Track the full funnel. Record walk-ins and admissions for every school, not leads alone.